Confession
by FirePhoniex12
Summary: AU: What if Alek found out Dylan Sharp was actually a Deryn Sharp at the end of the Leviathan? No one walked in and no one interrupted them. Alek POV, oneshot.


" '**They won't hang me, Alek. I'm not the soldier you think I am.' **

**He frowned, 'What do you mean?'**

**Deryn took a deep breath. 'I'm not really a-'" **

"Alek!" Deryn said, eying the dazed boy. "Pay attention!"

His gaze snapped back to her, "Sorry, it's not like I'm about to reveal to them that I'm really the heir of an enemy empire and be taken as a prisoner of war. No, nothing like _that._"

Deryn rolled her eyes, sometimes princes were so barking dramatic. "No, listen! It's not going to be like that..." she paused, trying to think of the best way to tell him that she was a girl, that her name was Deryn, not Dylan and that she had lied to him since the moment they met. She swallowed.

"Dylan?" Alek said, suddenly concerned. He put his hand on her shoulder, "What's the matter?" She looked at him then. This boy had saved her life. She had saved his. There was an unspoken bond between them. His touch reminded her of the first time they hugged. Alek had told her his biggest secret then. His parents' murders were the start of this war and that he, himself, was being hunted. Alek did not need to tell her that. In fact, he shouldn't have. It was a dangerous move. But he trusted her. And Deryn knew that she trusted him too.

"I..have something very important to tell you," she took a deep breath. "But you can't tell anyone. It's something really big. And no one can know. "

"If you don't want me to, I won't."

"Barking spiders," she said, looking away. "I'm a girl. My real name is Deryn Sharp."

Deryn was met with silence. Heat rose upon her face. She felt Alek pull his hand away from her shoulder. "I had to pretend to be Dylan Sharp to become an airman. I love flying more than anything. It's one of the things that really make me feel like Da is still here."

Still silence. Nervous, she ran a hand through her short blond hair.

"And this way, you don't have to tell them! And they won't kick you off and they wouldn't hang me because they would never hang a girl! So don't you see? This really works out for both of us," she ranted. Alek had no response. Finally, she met his gaze. His green eyes were hard as stone.

"Alek..."

"You lied to me." His voice was cold. She winced, but didn't say anything.

She half considered telling him she was sorry, but that thought flew out the window when he took a step forward, seething with anger. Involuntary, she took a step away. Her back hit one of the many crates in the room. The room was hot. It was an incubation chamber for the eggs. But Deryn knew she wasn't sweating from the heat. Alek growled, "I told you everything. About my parents, about the war...I trusted you! You know _everything_ about me." His voice grew quiet, "And you couldn't tell me this? You're my best friend...sometimes my only friend. And you don't even trust me."

"It's not like that," her voice was desperate. The pain was evident in his voice.

"Then what is it like?" he asked, mockingly. His voice cold once more. "Did you think I was going to tell someone!?"

She hesitated, "I didn't want to...ruin things between us."

"Ruin things? Tell me, Deryn." Her name sounded alien in his voice. "Did you think I couldn't handle it?"

"Vogler thought that was the reason. But I didn't, I swear. I just thought-"

"Vogler knew?!" The pain in Alek's voice somehow seemed to increase, but this time it was muffled by rage. Thoughts raced through his mind. "So that's why you helped me and that's why you saved my life. It wasn't because you were my friend. It was because Vogler was going to tell them you were a girl if you didn't. He was blackmailing you. You don't care about me. This was never about friendship."

Deryn froze; that was going too far. She clenched her fists. "You daft prince! You think I kept your secrets because I was scared? That Vogler was the reason I risked my life and my future to save your princeliness? You think it was all because of blackmail?!" Her voice broke off then. Her eyes were blinking rapidly. "I did for you. I did it because you are my best friend...I couldn't...I _can't_ lose you."

Alek just stared. His thoughts going a million miles per second. Dylan, no Deryn, didn't sound like Deryn. She sounded like a completely different person altogether and not because she hadn't bothered to lower her voice. She had saved his life when he was a stranger. Then she saved him again; even after finding out he was a Clanker, the enemy. That's just the kind of soldier she was. Deryn kept his secrets. She fought off his enemies, physically and mentally. She was always there. That's the kind of friend she was. But then he started to remember things, and notice things. A cold feeling crept into his stomach. The desperation in her voice, the small smile she would get when he walked into the room and the way Deryn glared at Lilit with suspicion. Even jealousy. His heart started to race. She didn't save his life because she was a soldier. It was because...

She had _really_ blue eyes.

"Deryn Sharp, are you in love with me?"


End file.
